Researchers with the university and the Army Corps of Engineers are trying to restore and protect Moundville Archaeological Park from the damage of the Black Warrior River. Matthew Gage, the director of the Office of Archaeological Research, said the river has been slowly eroding the site, an ongoing problem since the 1990s.

By Caroline GazzaraSpecial to The Tuscaloosa News

The Black Warrior River once fueled the lives of the indigenous people of Moundville, but now the river is eroding the shoreline, threatening archaeological efforts to preserve the past.Moundville, an archaeological park and museum in Hale County administered by the University of Alabama, was home to Native Americans of the Mississippian Era, between the 11th and 16th centuries. Their presence was marked by a series of 26 mounds.Researchers with the university and the Army Corps of Engineers are trying to restore and protect the site from the damage of the Black Warrior River. Matthew Gage, the director of the Office of Archaeological Research, said the river has been slowly eroding the site, an ongoing problem since the 1990s.“The shoreline had to be reshaped prior to the installation of rock armoring and gabion baskets,” Gage said. “Excavations were undertaken to collect the archaeological data prior to stabilization. But rivers are dynamic and shifting currents result in changing impact areas. Moundville has more than a kilometer of shoreline on the outside bend of a river channel. As the channel shifts for various reasons, different areas are affected.”Though none of the mounds are threatened by the river, Gage said about 3 feet of land has eroded during the past year and that in recent years, the lost land has been causing greater concern.“We do not know how much erosion has occurred since Moundville was the premier chiefdom in the region around 1200 A.D.,” Gage said. “We do know that in recent years, approximately 20 meters (more than 65 feet) of shoreline has been lost. There is no way to replace the archaeology that is lost, but stabilizing the shoreline will provide for protection of the site.”In previous years, federal aid helped the park restore the shoreline from erosion. Now, all funding comes from the University and the Corps of Engineers to reshape the north bank and restore the retaining wall.Bill Bomar, the interim executive director of the University of Alabama Museums, helps oversee the excavation of the site as well as the protection of it. “My biggest concern is that erosion of the river bluff at Moundville has increased very rapidly in the last five years,” Bomar said. “The Moundville site is only 10 percent excavated, making it one of the best-preserved sites of its kind in the world. We take the preservation of the site very seriously because once the ground is disturbed and archaeological deposits are removed, the soil stains, food remains, hearths, house posts, human remains and artifacts can never be put back. Only careful excavation and documentation can allow all of the pieces of the puzzle to be connected through analysis.”Cameron Lacquement, an anthropology professor at the University of Alabama, teaches students about the historical importance of Moundville. “It's really important to let the public know that we are fighting against natural erosion and human-induced erosion, and that our resources like Moundville and other Native American sites need to be protected so we can get as much information as we can,” Lacquement said.Though the river continues to rush past the mounds, Gage said he worries about the preservation of the land.“My biggest concern is that we are losing significant information and portions of the site that we know very little about,” Gage said. “Moundville is not just the mounds, but all of the landscape. Prehistoric terraforming included filling in low areas and leveling ravines to build the civic-ceremonial complex. Probably as much effort went into that as building the actual mounds.”UA and the Corps of Engineers plan to continue protecting the north bend as the river currents strengthen. The park is in the early stages of protection and plans to further its restoration to all areas of the site, Bomar said.

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